The development of practical and effective gas–solid contactors is an important area in the development of CO2 capture technologies. Target CO2 capture applications, such as postcombustion carbon ...capture and sequestration (CCS) from power plant flue gases or CO2 extraction directly from ambient air (DAC), require high flow rates of gas to be processed at low cost. Extruded monolithic honeycomb structures, such as those employed in the catalytic converters of automobiles, have excellent potential as structured contactors for CO2 adsorption applications because of the low pressure drop imposed on fluid moving through the straight channels of such structures. Here, we report the impregnation of poly(ethylenimine) (PEI), an effective aminopolymer reported commonly for CO2 separation, into extruded monolithic alumina to form structured CO2 sorbents. These structured sorbents are first prepared on a small scale, characterized thoroughly, and compared with powder sorbents with a similar composition. Despite consistent differences observed in the filling of mesopores with PEI between the monolithic and powder sorbents, their performance in CO2 adsorption is similar across a range of PEI contents. A larger monolithic cylinder (1 inch diameter, 4 inch length) is evaluated under conditions closer to those that might be used in large‐scale applications and shows a similar performance to the smaller monoliths and powders tested initially. This larger structure is evaluated over five cycles of CO2 adsorption and steam desorption and demonstrates a volumetric capacity of 350 molCO2
m-3monolith
and an equilibration time of 350 min under a 0.4 m s−1 linear flow velocity through the monolith channels using 400 ppm CO2 in N2 as the adsorption gas at 30 °C. This volumetric capacity surpasses that of a similar technology considered previously, which suggested that CO2 could be removed from air at an operating cost as low as $100 per ton.
Clean air powder: Amine‐functionalized honeycomb monoliths are prepared, characterized, and compared to similar powder sorbents for their application in the removal of CO2 from air. The monoliths have a volumetric capacity that exceeds that of a sorbent considered in a previous modeling study. CO2 extraction directly from air with chemicals could have operating costs as low as $100 per ton, which thus asserts the promise of this technology in CO2 extraction directly from air with chemicals.
Studies examining hormones throughout pregnancy and lactation in women have been limited to single, or a few repeated, short-term measures of endocrine activity. Furthermore, potential differences in ...chronic hormonal changes across pregnancy/lactation between first-time and experienced mothers are not well understood, especially as they relate to infant development. Hormone concentrations in hair provide long-term assessments of hormone production, and studying these measures in non-human primates allows for repeated sampling under controlled conditions that are difficult to achieve in humans. We studied hormonal profiles in the hair of 26 female rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta, n=12 primiparous), to determine the influences of parity on chronic levels of cortisol (hair cortisol concentration, HCC) and progesterone (hair progesterone concentration, HPC) during early- to mid-pregnancy (PREG1), in late pregnancy/early lactation (PREG2/LACT1), and in peak lactation (LACT2). We also assessed infants' neurobehavioral development across the first month of life. After controlling for age and stage of pregnancy at the first hair sampling period, we found that HCCs overall peaked in PREG2/LACT1 (p=0.02), but only in primiparous monkeys (p<0.001). HPCs declined across pregnancy and lactation for all monkeys (p<0.01), and primiparous monkeys had higher HPCs overall than multiparous monkeys (p=0.02). Infants of primiparous mothers had lower sensorimotor reflex scores (p=0.02) and tended to be more irritable (p=0.05) and less consolable (p=0.08) in the first month of life. Moreover, across all subjects, HCCs in PREG2/LACT1 were positively correlated with irritability (r(s)=0.43, p=0.03) and negatively correlated with sensorimotor scores (r(s)=-0.41, p=0.04). Together, the present results indicate that primiparity influences both chronic maternal hormonal profiles and infant development. These effects may, in part, reflect differential reproductive and maternal effort in mothers with varied caretaking experience. In addition, infant exposure to relatively higher levels of maternal cortisol during the late fetal and early postnatal periods is predictive of poorer developmental outcomes.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Centrioles are highly structured organelles whose size is remarkably consistent within any given cell type. New centrioles are born when Polo-like kinase 4 (Plk4) recruits Ana2/STIL and Sas-6 to the ...side of an existing "mother" centriole. These two proteins then assemble into a cartwheel, which grows outwards to form the structural core of a new daughter. Here, we show that in early
embryos, daughter centrioles grow at a linear rate during early S-phase and abruptly stop growing when they reach their correct size in mid- to late S-phase. Unexpectedly, the cartwheel grows from its proximal end, and Plk4 determines both the rate and period of centriole growth: the more active the centriolar Plk4, the faster centrioles grow, but the faster centriolar Plk4 is inactivated and growth ceases. Thus, Plk4 functions as a homeostatic clock, establishing an inverse relationship between growth rate and period to ensure that daughter centrioles grow to the correct size.
Short-term changes in activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical (HPA) system are routinely assessed by measuring glucocorticoid or metabolite concentrations in plasma, saliva, urine, or ...feces. However, there are no current methods for determining long-term (i.e., weeks or months) activity of this system. Herein, we describe the development and validation of a simple procedure for measuring cortisol concentrations in the hair of rhesus macaques. This procedure involves two brief isopropanol washes of the hair strands to remove surface contaminants, subsequent powdering of the washed and dried hair, a 24-h methanol extraction followed by evaporation of the solvent and reconstitution of the extract in assay buffer, and finally analysis of the extracted cortisol by a sensitive and specific enzyme immunoassay. Our results confirm the specificity of the procedure for cortisol, show that proximal and distal segments of hair do not differ in their cortisol concentration, and demonstrate that a significant and prolonged stressful experience produces a significant increase in hair cortisol. This new procedure should be valuable for assessing baseline HPA activity in nonhuman primates (and, with appropriate validation, in other species as well) over relatively long periods of time, and also for monitoring chronic stress that might be associated with various experimental manipulations.
Eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) is a key foundation species that provides multiple ecosystem services to shallow coastal and estuarine systems in the Northern Hemisphere. It is estimated that, over the ...last century, up to 50 % of all Z. marina habitat has been lost along the east coast of the USA due to factors including light reduction, eutrophication, and physical disturbance. Warming sea surface temperatures are also believed to be exacerbating losses and the future of this ecosystem is unclear. Here, we assess Z. marina meadows on Nantucket, an island system located 50 km off-shore of Massachusetts, by using common indicators of seagrass plant health and environmental quality. Our results show that Z. marina meadows on Nantucket Island are thermally stressed and light-limited during parts of their peak growing season. This suggests that sea-surface temperatures are a pivotal factor, along with cultural eutrophication, in observed large-scale losses of Z. marina and that further degradation could be expected in the future as the climate continues to warm. Methods from this study may be used by managers as a guide to assess seagrass ecosystem status in degrading systems.
The neural molecular and biochemical response to stress is a distinct physiological process, and multiple lines of evidence indicate that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is particularly sensitive to, and ...afflicted by, exposure to stress. Largely through this PFC dysfunction, stress has a characterized role in facilitating cognitive impairment, which is often dissociable from its effects on non-cognitive behaviors. The Rap1 small GTPase pathway has emerged as a commonly disrupted intracellular target in neuropsychiatric conditions, whether it be via alterations in Rap1 expression or through alterations in the expression of direct and specific upstream Rap1 activators and inhibitors. Here we demonstrate that escalating, intermittent stress increases Rap1 in mouse PFC synapses, results in cognitive impairments, and reduces the preponderance of mature dendritic spines in PFC neurons. Using viral-mediated gene transfer, we reveal that the hyper-induction of Rap1 in the PFC is sufficient to drive stress-relevant cognitive and synaptic phenotypes. These findings point to Rap1 as a critical mediator of stress-driven neuronal and behavioral pathology and highlight a previously unrecognized involvement for Rap1 in novelty-driven PFC engagement.
Highlights • A simple method to align motion capture with other data sources is described. • A common analog signal enables continuous synchronization throughout entire trials. • Millisecond-level ...precision enables accurate interpretation of rapid movements. • Data from individual trials can be synchronized automatically.
Dry deposition of ozone (O3) to the ocean surface and the ozonolysis of organics in the sea surface microlayer (SSML) are potential sources of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to the marine ...atmosphere. We use a gas chromatography system coupled to a Vocus proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer to determine the chemical composition and product yield of select VOCs formed from ozonolysis of coastal seawater collected from Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California. Laboratory-derived results are interpreted in the context of direct VOC vertical flux measurements made at Scripps Pier. The dominant products of laboratory ozonolysis experiments and the largest non-sulfur emission fluxes measured in the field correspond to Vocus CxHy+ and CxHyOz+ ions. Gas chromatography (GC) analysis suggests that C5–C11 oxygenated VOCs, primarily aldehydes, are the largest contributors to these ion signals. In the laboratory, using a flow reactor experiment, we determine a VOC yield of 0.43–0.62. In the field at Scripps Pier, we determine a maximum VOC yield of 0.04–0.06. Scaling the field and lab VOC yields for an average O3 deposition flux and an average VOC structure results in an emission source of 10.7 to 167 Tg C yr−1, competitive with the DMS source of approximately 20.3 Tg C yr−1. This study reveals that O3 reactivity to dissolved organic carbon can be a significant carbon source to the marine atmosphere and warrants further investigation into the speciated VOC composition from different seawater samples and the reactivities and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yields of these molecules in marine-relevant, low NOx conditions.
Summary Increased hair cortisol concentrations have been associated with stress exposure in both human and nonhuman primates, and hair cortisol is now gaining attention as a biomarker for ...stress-related health problems. The present study examined the behavioral and physiological reactions of rhesus monkey ( Macaca mulatta ) infants reared in three different rearing environments to the major stressor of relocation. Infant monkeys ( n = 61) were studied from birth through 2 years of age. For the first 8 months of life, infants were either with their mothers and peers (MPR, n = 21) or reared in a nursery using either peer-rearing (PR, n = 20) or surrogate-peer-rearing (SPR, n = 20). At approximately 8 months of age, infants were removed from their rearing group, simultaneously placed into a large social environment consisting of infants from all three rearing conditions, and observed for the next 16 months. Behavior was recorded twice per week from 1 to 24 months, and composite anxiety scores were calculated for each monkey. Monkeys were initially shaved at the nape of the neck on day 14 to remove any prenatal effects on hair cortisol deposition. Hair samples were then collected by re-shaving at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months and analyzed for cortisol content. MPR monkeys were the least affected by the stressor, showing smaller increases in anxious behavior than the other groups and more rapid physiological adaptation as assessed using hair cortisol. PR monkeys showed heightened and prolonged anxious behavior, had the highest cortisol levels prior to relocation, and their cortisol levels did not decline until more than a year later. SPR monkeys exhibited more rapid behavioral adaptation than PR monkeys, showing heightened but not prolonged anxious behavior. However, the SPR group showed a marked increase in cortisol in response to the relocation, and like the PR group, their physiological adaptation was slower than that of the MPR group as indicated by elevated cortisol levels at 18 months. By 24 months of age (16 months after relocation), all rearing groups were indistinguishable from one another physiologically and behaviorally. Spearman rank correlation revealed that hair cortisol taken at month 6 was not correlated with composite anxiety scores from months 6 to 8 (just before the relocation), but was positively correlated with composite anxiety scores between months 8 and 12 (immediately after relocation) for PR infants only ( rs = 0.75, p < 0.001). Month 6-hair cortisol tended to positively correlate with composite anxiety scores for the following 6 months (months 12–18) for PR monkeys only ( rs = 0.47, p = 0.037), which exhibited more anxious behavior than MPR and SPR infants during this period (ANOVA: F(2,60) = 14.761, p < 0.001) This is the first study to show that elevated hair cortisol early in life is a biomarker for the later development of anxious behavior in response to a major life stressor, particularly for infant monkeys exposed to early life adversity in the form of peer-rearing.
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